The One With The Big Date
by BlueMoonFan
Summary: This is based around Joey and Rachel's big date night. What if Rachel was the one that realized that she loved him first? What if she tried to keep her feelings for him hidden. What would have happened? This is my musings on it. Multi Chapter


A date. She had a date with Joey. Her roommate and probably the best, best friend a girl could have. Sure, when it came down to it, Monica was probably her best girlfriend, but Joey. Joey was her best guy friend. Maybe that was because he never judged her. Never made her feel like she was doing something wrong. No matter how much of a mess she made out of her life.

So, when he had asked her out on a date, she had only hesitated slightly. She had honestly wondered what going on a date with him would be like. After a bit of hesitation, she finally smiled at him and agreed to go on a date with him. It was only a date. It wasn't like it was going to change the rest of her life. Going on a date never hurt anyone. Right?

So, that's how she found herself standing in front of her closet trying to pick out the right clothes for her date with Joey. Everything that she had in her closet didn't look or feel right for their date. Should she wear something sexy? Something casual? Something somewhere in between? Normally she would have asked Monica, but somehow she wasn't comfortable telling her best friend about this whole thing.

It wasn't that she was ashamed of going on a date with him. She just wasn't ready for Monica's judgmental looks. Monica was very protective of her brother and she knew that on some level she hoped that Rachel and Ross would get back together. Rachel had tried to tell her that would never happen, but Monica was convinced that after the baby was born everything would magically fall back into place for them. They just needed to have the right push.

She sighed and sat on her bed and wondered if this was wrong. Going on a date with someone other than the father of her baby seemed wrong somehow. However, her being pregnant hadn't stopped Ross from dating other women. Flaunting them right in front of her. Why should that stop her? It was so unfair that she got judged for doing something that made her happy.

So, she shook her head and squared her shoulders and decided on a simple black dress. It showed just the right amount of cleavage to not be too revealing, but still left some things left to the imagination. It was just a date between two best friends. Her last hurrah before the baby came. That's all this was. Nothing more. Nothing less. This didn't mean anything. Joey was simply doing this because he felt sorry for her because she was pregnant and single. With no dating prospects anywhere in sight. No, this didn't mean anything at all.

Then why was she so nervous? She was feeling a bit sick to her stomach. At first, she had chalked it up to morning sickness, but then she realized that wasn't what it was. No, this was something different. Something that she hadn't felt in a long time. It was a lot like butterflies in her stomach. She felt excited. Excited about going on a date with Joey. Some part of her knew that this was crazy. There was no way that Joey would want anything to do with her past tonight. She was having a baby with another man. A man that was one of his best friends. This was probably a pity date and nothing more. So, she would push aside the butterflies in her stomach and have fun for the night. This wasn't anything other than two friends going out to have fun. Her last big hurrah before the baby came.

Sighing softly she shook her head and bent down to pick out a purse to match her dress. She gave herself a quick lookover in the mirror and that's when she heard a knock at the door.

"She called out, "Joey! Can you get the door?"

That's when she heard the knock again. She peeked out the bathroom door and didn't see any sign of anyone else in the apartment. She sighed and shook her head. Where the heck was Joey? Hopefully, he didn't bail on her and change his mind about going out with her. That would be the perfect way to end the day.

She threw the door open and was surprised to see Joey standing on the other side of the door. He was holding a bunch of flowers in his hand. She smiled and asked, "Are these for me?"

Smiling Joey whispered, "Well, we are going out on a date. Aren't we?"

Nodding, she smiled, "We are. Let me put these in some water."

She grabbed a vase and put some water in it. She turned back around and noticed that Joey looked nervous. Which was crazy, because they were just friends. Right? Maybe it was all the pregnancy hormones. Maybe it was something else, but she was really looking forward to their date tonight. Maybe they could go out again and…

Wait? What? This was just supposed to be a one-off. A one-time thing between friends. Wow… Did she have feelings for him? No.. It was crazy.

Her hands were shaking as she put the flowers in the vase. She had to get control of herself. Had to get her emotions under control. Finally, she turned around and smiled at him and asked, "Ready to go?"

Joey smiled in return and nodded, "Of course. Let's go. I've got a special night planned. We are going to go out to eat and then maybe go around Central Park in a carriage."

Wow, he really had thought about everything. This wasn't the Joey that she had known before tonight. She thought that he was all about getting girls into bed. Maybe she had him all wrong or maybe he was just putting on an act for her. Whatever it was, she was curious to see what the night held in store.

"Really?"

Smiling Joey nodded, "Of course. It's our big night right?"

She could only nod. She couldn't put down the feeling that was creeping into her stomach. Maybe it wasn't butterflies. Maybe it was just morning sickness. It had to be that right? It couldn't be anything more. She was having a baby. Maybe she wouldn't be so lonely after all. Maybe, just maybe this night would turn out better than she ever thought it would...


End file.
